Stair-carpet button



(No Model.)

A. A. OARDWELL.

STAIR GARPET BUTTON.

No. 472,250. Patented Apr. 5, 1892.

Wage.

w: wnms vanas co., pHoro-wma., wuumcrcs. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADDISON A. OARDVVELL, OF OLARENCEVILLE, NEV YORK.

STAIR-CARPET BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,250, dated April 5, 1892.

Application tiled January 19, 1891. Serial No. 378,197. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADDISON A'. CARDWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing in Clarenceville, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ornaments for Stair- Carpets, of which the following is a description sufficient to enable others skilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to means for securing the ornamental knobs, or buttons, as they are commonly called in the trade, to the front or upright widths of staircarpets- Originally these devices were designed and used for securing the carpets at or immediately adjoining the rectangular corner at the back of each tread, being simply ornamentations to the heads of pegs, nails, screws, dac., employed for the purpose; but proving inadequate or undesirable for the purpose they have been retained as ornaments to the upright portion or face of the stair-carpet, while the latter is secured in position by a line of tacks inserted at the rectangular corner before mentioned or by stair-rods or'other appropriate devices at that point. It has always heretofore been deemed necessary, however, to support the ornamental heads or knobs upon screws or nails passing through the carpets and entering the front boards or risers of the stairs, and the avoidance of the consequent inconvenience in application and removal and the resulting damage to the carpets is the main object of my improved construction. My invention consists in an ornamental knob or medallion provided with a clamp of elastic material, by which the device may be attached to the carpet independent of any direct connection with the stairs, the hook and its knob or medallion being so formed and combined with relation to each other that when they are applied to the carpet the latter is pinched, gripped, or clamped between them at two separate points to secure the device as a whole firmly in position to prevent its turning or its removal by children.

Figure l is a sectional view of two adjoining stairs with carpet ornamented with my improved device. Fig. 2 represents a front View of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional View similar to Fig. l, illustrating the old method of applying the knob or medallion directly to the stair-fronts. Figs. 4

and 5 are respectively a side elevation and 55 a rear elevation of a knob or medallion provided with an elastic hook, which clamps the carpet against the rear side of the medallionl at two ditterent places. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a sectional elevation and a rear 6o View of a hollow knob or medallion provided with a clamp, which pinches the carpet against its edges on opposite sides.

In the drawings, A A represent the hori zontal steps, and a a the upright front boards or risers of ordinary stairs.

B is the padding, and O the carpet, secured at the rectangle by tacks c c.

In Fig. 3, D represents an old form of stair decoration, consisting ot' a peg d, driven into 7o screw, which is designed to be applied by first forming a gimlet hole in the desired point in the front riser a and then screwing the screw home by means of a screw-driver; but 8o in practice the screw E is almost invariably driven home with a hammer, injuring the round head and impairing the nick therein, so as to render the latter of little avail in removing the screw, even if the latter operation 8 5 has not been rendered impossible by ordinary means by the act of driving it in. The decorative sheet-metal cap e, which is carried by the screw, is also frequently marred and injured by the hammer, and as it cannot be re- 9o moved without the screw E it is almost always irreparably damaged during the operation of taking up the carpet, which being done hastily and carelessly by workmen and servants not only frequently renders the decorations unfit for future use, but more frequently and seriously still leads to the tearing and ripping of the carpet itself.

Another serious disadvantage attending the use of the nails and screws D E is that inroo order to look well the ornaments have to be symmetrically and accurately arranged with In the 7 5 relation to each otherand to the carpet to which they are applied. Consequently, unless unusual time and care are devoted to measuring and determining the proper position of each device, the screws or nails may have to be withdrawn and reinserted several times before the'desired eect is attained, and as each insertion and withdrawal is apt to seriously impair both carpet and ornament, as before set forth, it is obvious that there is special need for improvement in this direction.

Still another objection to the use of the nails and screws D E is that they are apt to be driven in so far as to create a strain upon the carpet, and thereby increase and elongate the perforations made by them. As the devices are designed simply for ornamentation, the carpet being secured elsewhere, as hereinbefore set forth, it will be seen that this is not only unnecessary and injurious to the carpet, but that it also destroys the symmetrical lay or evenness of the carpet, drawing it in or puckering it at these points. All these diiieulties I avoid by simply attaching my improved ornamental device directly to the carpet itself, without reference to or connection with the stairs, by means of comparatively thin elastic clamps L L, projecting from the rear of the ornamented medallions or knobs M M. The clamps L are preferably made of metallic wire of suitable thickness and elasticity, bent or shaped into the required form by any suitable or wellknown means. rlhe clamp L is so constructed and combined with the knob or medallion M that when the device is applied to the carpet C the latter will be squeezed or pinched between it at two points, as in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and and 7. The two bearings Z Z2 are formed in like manner in Figs. 4C and 6, the bearings in the latter ligure being directly opposed to the edges m m of the knob M, which in this case is represented as made of sheet metal. The

ornament thus constructed may be quickly and conveniently applied to and removed from the carpet without injury to either.

fact, when once applied to the carpet the latter may be raised without disturbing the ornaments until after the operation, when they can be more conveniently detached therefrom than when the carpet is on the stairs. It is also obvious that the ornaments may be easily arranged with relation to each other by actual trial and adjustment without injury to themselves, the carpet, or the stairs. Besides being more simple and durable than those heretofore used, my improved stair-carpet ornament is moreeconomical, both in actual cost and in the value of the time involved in laying a carpet upon which they are used, since an hour or more of the carpet-layers time is occupied in applying the old ornaments alone, if the work is properly done, whereas by the use of my improved ornament the same result can be accomplished in one-fourth the time or less. The double bearing of the clamp holds the medallion squarely and evenly on the face of the carpet and prevents the accidental twisting or derangement of the ornament.

I am aware that Various forms of buttons and studs for apparel have been formed with coiled Shanks, duc., and I expressly disclaim such contrivances. None of them are provided with a spring clamp-hook formed with a double bearing to pinch the carpet against the back of the medallion at two separate points.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As an article of manufacture, an ornament for stair-carpets, consisting of an ornamental knob or medallion provided with an elastic clamphook formed with two bearings for pinching the carpet against the back of the knob or medallion at two separate places, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

ADDISON A. GARDWELL.

Vitnesses:

G. T. MIATT, D. \V. GARDNER. 

